The debutant director shares his experiences working with dubbing artist Sreeja Ravi, actor Basil Joseph, and music director Govind Vasantha.
Director Muhashin with actor Indrans on the sets of 'Kadina Kadoramee Andakadaham'. (Supplied)
Debutant director Muhasin’s Kadina Kadoramee Andakadaham (It’s a Complicated World) was released on 22 April as an Eid gift. It evoked a good response from both critics and audiences.
The movie reflected on the hardships faced by common people and NRIs — who couldn’t even travel to their homeland — due to Covid-19 lockdowns. It was picturised in his hometown Kallayi, a coastal region in the Kozhikode district.
Muhasin earlier worked as an assistant director with some of the known directors in the industry, including Rosshan Andrrews and Ashraf Hamza.
In an exclusive interview with South First, the filmmaker spoke about the characters in his film, his experiences working with the actors, and a lot more.
Q. How did you decide on the story? Was there any real-life incident that pushed you to make Kadina Kadoramee Andakadaham?
Muhasin with Johny Antony on the ses of ‘Kadina Kadoramee Andakadaham’. (Supplied)
A. This is a fictional tale, but we were aware of the pandemic-related incidents. The NRIs had to deal with difficulties during Covid because of the lockdowns, quarantines, and other measures.
This story is based on the hardships they encountered as they were unable to travel home. According to references and media accounts at that time, even transporting the dead bodies from the Gulf countries became difficult.
Q. Being a native of Kozhikode, what preparations did you make to tell a story from the Malabar region? Also, the story happens in Chamundi Valappu near Kallayi.
A. This is my first movie and knowing the locality where the story is happening made it easier for me. Belonging to the place made all the areas accessible, and easy to shoot.
The natives were cooperative. I could tell this story from other places in Kerala but I intentionally chose a coastal village.
Q. Why cast Basil Joseph for the lead role when he hasn’t done many serious roles earlier?
Director Muhasin with actor Basil Joseph. (Supplied)
A. Though Basil Joseph did serious roles in Joji (2021) and other films, I believe that the audience found humour in the output (of these movies). The reason why I chose Basil Joseph is that I haven’t seen him play such a deep role before.
I even doubted if he could do this character as there are emotional scenes where he has to perform.
But after watching Dear Friend (2022), I felt that he is apt for the role. Basil Joseph performed the serious scenes in Dear Friend with finesse.
Q. Surprisingly, you roped in dubbing artist Sreeja Ravi for the role of Basil Joseph’s (Bachu) mother Nabeesa.
A. Well, I was confident in the casting. I always feel that dubbing artists are amazing actors.
When an actor performs, s/he has the support of co-artists. An ambience is created for them to act. Even the costumes and the music will support them to transform into the character.
Debutant director Muhasin with actor Sreeja Ravi on the sets of ‘Kadina Kadoramee Andakadaham’. (Supplied)
But dubbing artists don’t have any of these luxuries. And yet, they work inside the edit suite and give voice to the characters with the same feel.
Sreeja Ravi is such an artist with vast experience. I was sure that she would fit in the role. I also didn’t want a known face for Nabeesa’s character.
I was pressurised to change Sreeja Ravi. Even she wondered why I was adamant about her doing the role because she was busy with her work. But I included her by rescheduling the shoot.
The other challenge was her voice itself since the audience may wonder why an old lady has the voice of a youngster. But I insisted that Sreeja Ravi will dub for her role and she proved me right!
Q. If you had to replace Sreeja Ravi with another actor, would you have used her voice?
A. I prefer actors dubbing for their roles. If I was to replace Sreeja Ravi in the movie, I would not have gone with her voice but asked the new actor to dub for the character.
If the actors don’t know the language, I would prefer a dubbing artist who has a voice similar to that of the actors’ body language.
Director Muhasin with Binu Pappu on the sets of ‘Kadina Kadoramee Andakadaham’. (Supplied)
Q. Who decided the title of Kadina Kadoramee Andakadaham?
A. Kadina Kadoramee Andakadaham was one of the titles suggested by my scriptwriter Harshad.
After giving it a thought, I felt that the translation of the title makes sense — It’s a bitter world or It’s a complicated world! Also, the name was apt for the story.
Q. Why did you insist that Govind Vasantha be part of this film?
A. Govind Vasantha was the first person to join the crew. He was impressed with the story.
We share a connection. He sent me some portions and a rough track which I liked.
It took a long time for me to finish the shoot and he found it difficult to continue on the project due to his hectic schedule. But when I declared that his music is the soul of my movie, he asked me to send the film to his place.
After watching it, he said he was impressed and would surely compose the music.
After wrapping up the work, Govind told me that the movie gave him complete satisfaction, a similar feeling that he experienced after scoring the music for the Tamil film 96 (2018).
A working still from ‘Kadina Kadoramee Andakadaham’. (Supplied)
Q. Are they any references to the characters done by Indrans, Sudheesh, Binu Pappu, and Fara Shibla?
A. We all must have come across people like them in our lives. While shooting the film, I had a feeling that the audience will get connected to these characters in some way.
Even Basil Joseph’s Bachu is a common man in our society.
Q. What are your upcoming projects?
A. Discussions are going on. But I haven’t decided on anything yet.
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